Contents

Overview

Team Avatar heads to a Fire Nation village in search of food where Sokka seizes the opportunity to earn money by playing on the fears of the residents.

Synopsis

When Sokka mistakenly assumes Appa's loud stomach rumble for an earthquake and freaks out, Toph reassures him that there is no danger. Aang tells his flying bison that he and his friends will visit the nearby Fire Nation town to buy some food, making Momo stay with Appa. Sokka promptly covers for himself, saying he was not "freaking out", but was worried for his friends.

Knowing that none of them have the money they need to pay for their food at the market, Sokka decides to be opportunistic about their situation when two young children run into the town from the forest and announce that there is a monster in the woods; Aang immediately understands that it must have been Appa they saw and attempts to go clear things up, however Sokka silences him and builds hype in the gathering crowd, pointing out that it must be a "ferocious" sky bison and making up tales of evil sky bison exploits. Afterward, he reenters the mob and introduces himself as a Monster Slayer. A girl named Ming-Ming begs Sokka to bring her grandmother back from the monster alive, even though the woman is standing plainly in the crowd. He promises to do so, for a price.

Having led the villagers into the forest, Sokka points to a large, furry, silhouetted figure in the distance and warns the crowd to stand back while he goes to defeat the monster, also asking them that they have their money ready for when he returns. Sokka arrives at the creature and implores Appa to do something menacing to scare the crowd in the distance into thinking Sokka is fighting a real monster. After hearing its roar, though at first satisfied, he realizes the animal is not his flying bison friend, but a wild armadillo bear. Team Avatar looks on in sorrow, thinking Sokka is a goner, but Aang triumphantly exclaims that Appa is here to save the day. The two beasts growl at one another before Appa makes the first move, headbutting the armadillo bear. When Appa charges at his opponent again, it rolls itself into a ball, but the bison is unfazed; he simply bats the sphere away with his tail, shooting it far from the village.

The crowd cheers for the "sky monster" who saved their village and runs up to Appa excitedly, with Aang happily informing Momo that Appa just saved everybody. Sokka cowers behind a tree and asks his sister is the armadillo bar has gone while Ming-Ming jubilantly exclaims that her grandmother, who was never actually lost, has returned. Back in the town, Appa is being showered in gifts of fruit while Sokka and the rest of the team sit and watch from a distance. Sokka, whose stomach is now rumbling the same as Appa's was earlier in the day, wonders if Appa might share some of his food with them.

Production notes

Transcript

Series continuity

Toph and Sokka conspire with one another about how to scam the townspeople into giving them money, to which Katara objects without hesitation. This is a subtle reference to the events of "The Runaway".

Goofs

Although this story takes place after the events of "The Runaway", Toph does not wear the bracelet she received in "Sokka's Master".